I heard a fact earlier this year and it stuck with me. Ours is the first generation that will produce children less educated than their parents.
What that means is that we are spending less per pupil that we have in the past, and many feel we are going backwards in our investment in public education. And the trend doesn’t look like it will change anytime soon.
We see cuts everywhere, leaving Washington state 45th in the nation in per pupil funding. Furthermore, our state is in the bottom 20 percent of states with students entering post-high school education. Our state is 33rd in our high school graduation rates. Or, as the past University of Washington president said, we lead the country in science and engineering, but we are one of the states at the bottom in the production of scientists and engineers.
Somehow, here on Vashon, we have managed to maintain really wonderful schools in the face of budgets that were essentially designed 30 years ago.
While other public school districts have lost their advanced placement classes, their arts and music, their P.E. and sports, we are hanging on to ours by a thread — and the thread is you. Our schools aren’t perfect, but they do a darn good job in the midst of a broken funding system.
Our wonderful community cares about education. We’ve seen that over and over in the support given at past PTSA auctions and other fundraisers. At this time in our public school crisis, it is tempting to just wish it away. The problem with that approach is that the public school system won’t be fixed overnight. Someone is going to need to fill the cracks while we find a way to fund public schools, in good and bad times.
We have had nine PTSA Auctions on Vashon now. That’s a lot of fundraising. They have continued to make more each year. This year, we will gather on May 14 at the Open Space for Arts & Community. We have fantastic items, including a jersey signed by all the Sounders, outings at the Mariners and the Seattle Storm, wine-tastings, a trip to the Bahamas and much more. The auction raises money for critical curriculum. This year, we are raising money for “language and literacy” — replacing horribly outdated Japanese and Spanish books at the high school and investing in reading and literacy tutoring at the elementary and middle schools.
In the midst of the auction happening, we have the Vashon Schools Foundation starting its big annual push, which will go from May 11 through June 11. While the PTSA raises critical money for curriculum and many extra-curricular programs in our district, the foundation is raising money to fill the gaps in critical funding of public education.
I think we need to start changing how we view public schools. Schools are no longer something only our tax dollars can maintain. Good schools end up being private schools or they end up being public schools that parents and communities are willing to help support financially. It would be wonderful if our public schools gave our students everything they deserve. It just doesn’t happen anymore. So what we can do is step up and give support, whether it is by attending the PTSA auction, by supporting the foundation — or both.
I don’t believe any of us think the only good schools should be private schools. I know I don’t. That’s why we moved here 10 years ago this month. It was for the schools. And I have loved them.
Going to an auction to celebrate those schools is something I can do with great joy. I hope to see you there.
— Lauri Hennessey, a mother of three, is the president of the Vashon PTSA and chair of this year’s PTSA Auction.
Vashon PTSA Auction tickets are still available
The PTSA Auction is at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, May 14. Tickets, $50 per person or $45 when purchased in groups of 10, are available at Movie Magic or at the PTSA’s website, www.vashonptsa.org.
